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The Black Russian
Great Lives (Related to this series)
- Author
- Vladimir Alexandrov
- Narrator
- Ben Onwukwe
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 26 May 2026
- Run Time
- 11 hours 16 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
The extraordinary story of Frederick Bruce Thomas, the son of former slaves who fled America to build a life in Tsarist Russia.
'A fascinating tale' Anne Applebaum
'Thoroughly enjoyable' Spectator
'Extraordinary and gripping' Adam Hochschild
After the brutal death of his father when he was a teenager, Frederick Thomas fled the stifling racism of the American South and headed for New York City, where he worked as a valet and trained as a singer. Through charisma and cunning, Thomas emigrated to Europe, where his acquired skills as a multilingual maitre d'hôtel allowed him to travel from London to Monte Carlo before settling in Moscow in the glorious days before the 1917 Revolution. There Thomas became a rich and respected nightclub impresario, opening a lavish nightclub called Maxim.
With evocative backdrops in Moscow and later in Odessa and Constantinople, where Thomas rebuilt his life after the revolution, The Black Russian is an inspiring story of personal reinvention set in one of history's richest periods.
Critics Review
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A fascinating tale of culture clash and historical change
Anne Applebaum
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Like Thomas's midnight cabarets, it provides a thoroughly enjoyable display
Spectator
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Vladimir Alexandrov manages his narrative superbly
TLS
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Enthralling... The author is to be congratulated for shining a light on this extremely interested, sometimes inspiring and sometimes tragic life
Bookbag
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An extraordinary and gripping book
Adam Hochschild
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The ride of a lifetime
John Bailey
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An extraordinary story interpreted with great sensitivity
New York Review of Books
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Vaults breathlessly from set-piece to set-piece. Evocative, compelling, throughly enjoyable
Spectator
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A tale so colourful it reads more like a novel than biography. Endlessly fascinating
Literary Review
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Vladimir Alexandrov
- Narrator
- Ben Onwukwe
- Duration
- 11 hours 16 minutes
- Release Date
- 26 May 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035926701
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- European history, Biography: arts and entertainment, Biography: historical, political and military, Social and cultural history
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents The Black Russian by Vladimir Alexandrov, read by Ben Onwukwe.The extraordinary story of Frederick Bruce Thomas, the son of former slaves who fled America to build a life in Tsarist Russia. 'A fascinating tale' Anne Applebaum 'Thoroughly enjoyable' Spectator 'Extraordinary and gripping' Adam HochschildAfter the brutal death of his father when he was a teenager, Frederick Thomas fled the stifling racism of the American South and headed for New York City, where he worked as a valet and trained as a singer. Through charisma and cunning, Thomas emigrated to Europe, where his acquired skills as a multilingual maitre d'hôtel allowed him to travel from London to Monte Carlo before settling in Moscow in the glorious days before the 1917 Revolution. There Thomas became a rich and respected nightclub impresario, opening a lavish nightclub called Maxim.With evocative backdrops in Moscow and later in Odessa and Constantinople, where Thomas rebuilt his life after the revolution, The Black Russian is an inspiring story of personal reinvention set in one of history's richest periods.
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